This invention relates to a device for dispensing tissue paper and similar sheet material, such as hair end-wrap papers used in the beauty and cosmetology profession.
The difficulty which occurs when one desires to remove a single sheet of tissue paper from the top of a stack of such paper is well known to hair stylists and other persons in the beauty and cosmetology profession. While an occasional person will have what appears to be a natural ability to accomplish that task, most people find the task to be both frustrating and time consuming. Often, a person desiring to remove a single sheet of tissue paper from the top of a stack of such papers will wet one or more of his or her fingers to facilitate accomplishment of that task. Unfortunately, that practice wets the tissue paper and is unsightly to many patrons of beauty and cosmetology salons.
The prior art provides various devices for dispensing single sheets of tissue paper and similar sheet material. Many of the prior art devices are neither intended nor suitable for use in the beauty and cosmetology profession. Several prior art devices which are intended for use in that profession are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,885,112, issued to Willat, for a "Sheet Paper Dispensing Device"; U.S. Pat. No. 3,094,323, issued to Catania, for "End Papers for Hair Waving and Dispenser Thereof"; U.S. Pat. No. 3,204,817, issued to Kostering, for a "Device for Dispensing End Papers for Hair Rollers"; and U.S. Pat. No. 3,248,006, issued to Lowery et al., for a "Sheet Tissue Paper Dispenser".
The various prior art devices which are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,885,112, 3,094,323 and 3,204,817 have not achieved significant popularity with the members of the beauty and cosmetology profession. It is believed that this failure to achieve popularity is the result of various operational disadvantages which are inherent in those devices. While the prior art device which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,248,006 is free of many of those disadvantages, it is believed that it has several disadvantages which have limited its use by members of the beauty and cosmetology profession.
That device consists essentially of a rectangular container having a bottom wall and side walls with three connected corners and one open corner, an elongated coil spring with one end secured to the top of one connected corner of the container and the other end extending diagonally across the container to its open corner, and a spherical pick-up head mounted on the free end of the coil spring. A non-drying, pressure sensitive tacky adhesive is provided on the lower portion of the spherical pick-up head for contacting the sheet of tissue paper to be removed from the top of a stack of such paper in the rectangular container. The elongated coil spring and spherical pick-up head are positioned generally in the horizontal plane of the open top of the rectangular container.
With the coil spring and pick-up head positioned in the manner described, it is not possible to efficiently dispense single sheets of tissue paper with the device if the rectangular container is filled with tissue paper. In such case, the vertical space between the bottom of the pick-up head and the top sheet of the stack of tissue paper is not sufficient for convenient grasping of the dispensed sheet by the user of the device. Even when a smaller stack of tissue paper is placed in its container, the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,248,006 has several major operational disadvantages. First, since its coil spring and pick-up head are positioned generally in a horizontal plane, the user of the device must grasp the dispensed tissue paper through the open corner of the rectangular container. Next, since its coil spring is not restrained along its length and its pick-up head has a spherical form, the user of the device must apply force to the pick-up head at essentially a 90.degree. angle to the horizontal plane containing the top sheet in the stack of tissue paper to assure that the adhesive on the lower portion of the pick-up head actually contacts the tissue paper.
The undamped oscillations and vibrations of the unrestrained, elongated coil spring of that device can cause the dispensed sheet of tissue paper to fall from the pick-up head. And, of course, this operational disadvantage becomes more serious after the device has been used for an extended period of time. Finally, with that device, the elongated coil spring is exposed to water and various chemical solutions which are routinely used in beauty and cosmetology salons. Even if stainless steel or another suitable corrosion resistant material is used for manufacture of the coil spring, unsightly and unsanitary crud and other deposits often accumulate between the coils of the spring. And, of course, it is difficult, if not impossible, to remove such deposits from between the coils.
It is desirable to have a device for dispensing tissue paper and similar sheet material which does not have the disadvantages inherent in the device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,248,006 and other prior art devices. Such a device would be particularly useful to persons in the beauty and cosmetology profession.